Chapter 5: Testing Attributes (Part 1)

Ji Xiaofeng couldn’t pounce, nor could his subordinates, because they were killed instantly by a high-ranking Grand Sage. If it weren’t for the fact that he had a clan elder as an ancestor uncle, Ji Xiaofeng would have been killed just as quickly. However, to avoid angering Qi Wu Zhen, Ji Xiaofeng was beaten mercilessly by two high-ranking Grand Sages.
Eagle Demon was right—Ji Xiaofeng had now become a pitiful kid, beaten black and blue without knowing why. But he knew it was clan experts at the elder level who were beating him.
Ji Xiaofeng cried out, “I’m from the clan… I… I’m from the clan… You’re hitting the wrong person… The wrong person…”
The elder beating him was furious. The clan had paid such a high price to get a promise from Qi Wu Zhen—how could they afford to anger her further and risk her making another demand? He snapped, “That’s right, you’re the one being beaten!”
Ji Xiaofeng wailed. He had never suffered such humiliation in his life. What confused him the most was that he had only said one sentence and was beaten half to death. By this standard, all the things he had done in the past were countless times worse and should have resulted in his death long ago.
Qi Wu Zhen said cheerfully, “Don’t be so violent. I’m here to buy clothes, not to watch people get beaten.”
The professionals from the Gu Ji clan immediately started cleaning. In less than five minutes, the second floor was spotless, with only a faint smell of blood remaining in the air.
Ji Xiaofeng was dragged away, his cries echoing in the distance: “…Wrong… You’re hitting the wrong person…”
Eagle Demon tapped his own forehead and sighed again, “Poor kid…”
Luo Zhan agreed, “Mm, indeed pitiful. Hope he won’t get killed when he gets home.”
Qi Wu Zhen turned around and scolded playfully, “Enjoying others’ misfortune!” She acted innocently. Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan fell silent. Though they were already quite familiar with her and knew she wouldn’t kill randomly now, they still felt a bit afraid of her.
…
Guo Shier and the Handsome Old Man were counting the first batch of materials they had obtained. They took away the materials they had listed, some of which were wanted by Qi Wu Zhen, so those materials were left in the talisman storage bags. There were over a hundred talisman storage bags in total.
As he inspected the collected materials, the Handsome Old Man exclaimed in admiration, “Truly befitting an ancient clan. Heh, kid, you’ve saved at least several decades of effort—maybe even a hundred years wouldn’t be enough to gather this many materials.”
Guo Shier said, “A hundred years? Stop joking. In a hundred years, what materials couldn’t I gather?”

The handsome old man said, “Don’t get your hopes up too high. You might be able to collect 90% of the materials, but there are some you might never come across in your lifetime, like natural runes. You might gather a few or even dozens of them, but the one you really need could take a lifetime to find.”

Guo Shier thought about it and agreed. It was a matter of probability; it was indeed impossible to collect everything. The world was vast, with countless materials, yet his range of exploration was limited. He said, “Well, we’re really relying on Sister Qi Wu Zhen’s help.”

With the handsome old man’s assistance, sorting the materials went quickly. Guo Shier first collected the materials on his list, placed those not needed by Qi Wu Zhen separately, and stored the materials required by Eagle Demon, Luo Zhan, and Nan You in other rune bags. Most of the materials obtained this time were needed by the four of them, with only a small portion being from Qi Wu Zhen’s list.

The Guji family was also helpless. It wasn’t that they were neglecting Qi Wu Zhen; it was simply that the materials she needed were extremely advanced, and they could only gather so much for now.

The handsome old man said, “You’ve gained the most—117 rune bags in total, with over half belonging to you. That woman… only has four rune bags’ worth of materials. Yet the materials she got make me jealous; they’re all rare, with several I’ve never seen before.”

Guo Shier said, “We’ve obtained 27 basic natural runes, which can compensate for our shortcomings.”

The handsome old man said, “We already have the five most fundamental runes: the Metal Rune, Wood Rune, Water Rune, Fire Rune, and Earth Rune. The most precious one is a natural Soul Rune. I don’t know where they got it… You can start constructing the Heavenly Altar—no, at least its prototype. But you need to think carefully. Building an Heavenly Altar requires not only a vast amount of souls but also countless materials. The more advanced it is, the harder it is.”

Guo Shier smiled and said, “A solid foundation will enable better progress in the future. Let’s lay the basics first and deal with the rest later.” He wasn’t overly burdened; the large amount of materials he’d obtained this time would last him for a while.

The handsome old man said, “We need to revise the altar. Fortunately, you have the Ancient Ink Lotus—it’s the real foundation of your altar. Hehe, once someone else’s altar is built, it can’t be changed; only minor repairs are possible. Since your altar’s core is the Ancient Ink Lotus, it can be completely modified without collapsing.”

Guo Shier still feels deeply emotional about how lucky he was to obtain the Ancient Ink Lotus back then, and how well it matched his Soul Scripture. Thanks to the Soul Scripture, his soul remained exceptionally pure. Without being able to fuse so many Soul Beads, he wouldn’t have been able to grow so rapidly.

Especially the Soul Beads given by Qi Wu Zhen were all refined from the souls of altar-level experts. Compared to the Soul Beads collected by the handsome old man, they were countless times better in terms of quality and quantity. Qi Wu Zhen forcibly stripped others of their souls and then compressed them into Soul Beads using his powerful soul energy.

Thinking back to the last time he forcibly absorbed a Soul Bead, it nearly destroyed his soul. Without the Soul Scripture, he would have either become an idiot or a madman. But as a result, he was able to advance to the third level of the altar. His training over these past few days had made him realize that with the fused Soul Beads plus his own soul, his current soul energy was sufficient to construct the fourth level of the altar.

Regarding this rapid advancement, Guo Shier wasn’t pleased but rather fearful, as it was too fast, and he didn’t know what problems might arise. The only solution was to construct a Heavenly Altar, even if it was just the basic framework, so as to avoid issues.

The Heavenly Altar was the most special type of altar in legend. Once its basic framework was successfully constructed, along with the regulation provided by the Soul Scripture, Guo Shier would be able to confidently absorb Soul Beads and embark on a path of rapid advancement.

By the time Qi Wu Zhen returned with Eagle Demon and Luo Zhan, it had already gotten dark.

Nights on the Frozen Continent were extremely cold—non-professionals simply couldn’t withstand them, and even mid-to-low-level professionals found it unbearable. So at night, almost everyone stayed inside their rooms. The houses here were adorned with numerous runes to protect them and maintain a stable temperature inside.

Guo Shier handed Qi Wu Zhen four rune storage bags and said, “These are the materials on your list. Apart from these four bags, everything else is ours.”

Qi Wu Zhen took a quick look, nodded, and said, “Good.” Then he reached out and grabbed Guo Shier’s arm, smiling and saying, “Tonight I want to…”

Guo Shier immediately felt as if countless crows were flying past his eyes. That statement was too ambiguous—what did “tonight I want to” mean?

Over these past few days, Eagle Demon had already started constructing his own physical altar. Nan You was also getting ready, while Luo Zhan began gathering materials and learning the knowledge from the inherited memories about constructing physical altars.

So every night, Guo Shier must recite scriptures. Not only does he need to refine his own soul, but he also has to help the Eagle Demon and the others refine their souls. Qi Wu Zhen, of course, would never miss such an opportunity. Every time scriptures were recited, Qi Wu Zhen reaped the most benefits. Her number of spirits was not only enormous but also extremely chaotic. It was only after receiving the adjustment from Guo Shier’s soul fluctuations that she gradually eliminated the danger and stepped back from the brink of madness. Qi Wu Zhen understood this completely from the moment she regained clarity. A few days later, the second batch of materials arrived—another hundred or so talisman bags. This time, Qi Wu Zhen got a slightly larger share, eleven talisman bags in total, with the rest being materials needed by Guo Shier and the others. With nothing to do, Qi Wu Zhen taught Guo Shier and the others. With her knowledge and skill, a single word from her could bring great benefits to them. Qi Wu Zhen said, “Once you reach the sixth-level altar, you can focus on one sect and strive to reach the highest level. Brother Shier, with your current altar… once you reach the sixth level, the path ahead will be much harder.” Guo Shier asked, “Why?” Qi Wu Zhen replied, “You’ve taken the most complicated path. In our era, some people also built celestial altars, but few were able to reach the eighth level. Although celestial altars are extremely powerful, the materials required… become terrifyingly vast later on, and a large number of sacrifices are needed to operate them smoothly. It’s actually easier to focus on just one sect.” Guo Shier hadn’t thought that far ahead. He said, “I’d be satisfied if I could reach the sixth-level altar. If I can reach the eighth level, who in this world could I fear?” Qi Wu Zhen shook her head. “This world… isn’t what you can imagine. Do you think I’m strong?” Both Guo Shier and the Eagle Demon nodded like chicks pecking at grains. Was she not strong? What did it even take to be strong? She was already incredibly powerful. Qi Wu Zhen said, “You’ve been to too few places. My strength now is only considered relatively strong, but definitely not the strongest.” Then she added with a smile, “But with the adjustment from your soul fluctuations, I’m confident I can keep getting stronger.” Guo Shier couldn’t help but mutter, “What the hell is this place…?” He said, “Sis Zhen, stop joking. You still want to get stronger… You can already shatter entire continents. How much stronger do you need to get? Do you want to destroy the world?” Qi Wu Zhen giggled. She said, “Silly child, this world isn’t what you imagine.”

Guo Shier could only force a wry smile. In her eyes, Guo Shier was still a child, and the three of them, including Eagle Demon, could also be considered children.
Eagle Demon said, “Sister Zhen, do you really want to advance to the eleventh-tier altar…? But the inheritance I received is only up to the sixth-tier altar… nothing beyond that.”